What does the day-to-day work of a real estate marketer with a federal certificate look like?

Real estate marketers (also known as property marketers) work as middle managers in real estate companies, real estate funds, trust companies, construction and general contractors, banks, insurance companies and pension funds or in public administration. Your main task is to buy and sell land and properties for your clients or customers or to ensure the first letting of complex rental properties. They also act as a link between property owners and tenants. To do this, they need in-depth knowledge of the real estate market, financing options, legal aspects and marketing opportunities. As a real estate marketer, you act as an intermediary between the seller and buyer of a property, including real estate marketing - this is a challenging and varied job.

A real estate marketer with a federal certificate performs the following tasks:

• Advise interested parties on the purchase or initial rental of rental or owner-occupied apartments, single and multi-family homes, commercial and industrial properties and unbuilt land
• Inform clients about mortgage and financing models, tax optimization, property gains or transfer taxes (including legal issues)
• prepare a financial plan with personal and economic affordability as well as loan-to-value ratios for customers in order to be able to guarantee financing
• regularly follow what is happening on the real estate market
• Create market analyses (assess location, floor plan design, condition, price expectations as well as utilization and resale opportunities)
• Create detailed property descriptions with texts, photos, videos and floor plans
• Presenting real estate properties in the media, on internet platforms and in direct marketing
• Be able to present the advantages of the property convincingly during the interview
• Maintain contacts with experts, real estate owners, financial institutions and professional colleagues
• create a marketing concept for each new property
• derive the marketing concept and implement it
• Determining the sales prices or rents
• Designing show apartments
• Organization of tours
• If necessary, supervision of the marketing agencies that carry out the marketing measures

Note: The division/weighting of tasks can vary greatly depending on the job profile and type of company!

Target group and skills: Who is the professional examination for real estate marketers with a federal certificate suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The real estate marketer with a federal certificate is aimed at the following people:

• Professionals in real estate management who would like to deepen their skills in the independent handling of complex initial letting mandates and sales mandates and confirm them with a federal qualification

Important qualities and skills for the profession of real estate marketer are

• Enjoy customer contact and selling
• Enthusiasm for real estate and an interest in construction technology
• High level of commitment, motivation and resilience
• Independence and confident demeanor
• Solution orientation and assertiveness
• Leadership qualities
• commercial skills
• Computer skills
• Sense for numbers

Requirements for admission to the professional examination in real estate marketing:

The following prerequisites are required for admission to the final examination (federal professional examination) as a real estate marketer:

• At least 3 years of basic vocational training, high school diploma, federally recognized commercial diploma, degree from a higher technical college, a professional examination, a higher technical examination, a university or equivalent qualification
• At least 3 years of full-time work experience in a profession in the real estate industry after completing the training

or

• 5 years of full-time professional experience in a profession in the real estate industry, including at least 2 years in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein

and

• No entries in the criminal record that contradict the purpose of the audit

You will be informed in writing at least four months before the start of the examination whether you meet the requirements for admission to the professional examination for real estate marketers.

Note: Requirements such as professional experience only need to be fulfilled at the time of the federal written examinations. Some schools may be prepared to admit you to a preparatory course for the professional examination for real estate marketers if you do not (yet) meet the criteria for admission to the federal examination at the start of the course. You are responsible for meeting the conditions at the time of the examination or examination registration. This is subject to the timely transfer of the examination fee.

Subject matter and content of the real estate marketer training course:

The subject matter of the preparatory courses for the professional examination for the real estate marketing specialist certificate is based on the specifications of the sponsor of the federal examination, theUSPI Suisseand theSVIT Switzerland.

The training content is divided into the following real estate marketer subjects:

• Structural knowledge
  • Building technology
  • Planning and building law
• Real estate marketing
  • Basics of real estate marketing
  • Swiss real estate market
  • Market research
  • Procurement marketing
  • Sales marketing
  • Marketing concept
  • Marketing activities
• Presentation and communication technology
  • Develop negotiation and consulting skills
• Property sale
  • Real estate valuation
  • Real estate financing
  • Sale of land from a legal perspective
  • Real estate trading from a tax perspective
• Law (UGB, OR, Value Added Tax Act)

Costs and financing of real estate marketing training:

Depending on the provider and duration of the course, the costs for further training as a real estate marketer vary slightly. On average, you can expect to pay these amounts:

• Course fees:between CHF 7'800.- and CHF 11'400.-
  After taking the exam, you will receive around 50% of this back from the federal government on application (regardless of the result)*.
  Note: Members of the SVIT receive a CHF 800 discount and members of the Kaufmännischer Verband receive a 10% discount on the costs of training courses and courses offered by individual training providers.
• Examination fees:CHF 2,700 (as at: 2023)
  The examination fee is set by the body responsible for the professional examination. It is paid by the candidate after confirmation of admission to the real estate marketer examination.
• Extra costs:At some schools, the costs for enrolment fees, teaching materials, training documents, books, intensive exam training, simulation exams, school diplomas and interim qualifications, for example, are not included in the course fees. Please contact the provider of your choice directly to find out what additional costs you can expect for the real estate marketer training course.

*Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for federal professional examinations such as real estate marketer have been financially supported by the federal government. Graduates of these courses can therefore be reimbursed up to 50% (max. CHF 9,500) of the course costs paid after taking the federal examination. In exceptional cases of hardship, the federal contributions are also paid out in advance.

Duration of study, number of lessons and learning effort for real estate marketer training:

• The real estate marketer training, continuing education is classically structured (i.e. professional examination includes all competencies to be assessed) and lasts 12 to 15 months in parallel with work. It comprises approx. 350 lessons.
• Lesson times vary depending on the provider of the real estate marketer course. As a rule, lessons take place two evenings a week, one afternoon and evening or all day on a weekday.
• Many schools now offer a mix of face-to-face and online courses (online, hybrid teaching, blended learning) as well as self-study.
• Thanks to the extra-occupational concept of the Real Estate Marketer course, you can immediately apply and deepen your knowledge in practice. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your previous knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4 - 6 hours per week as a precaution.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons". This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. These are important aspects on the way to successfully becoming a real estate marketer. It is best to contact the school of your choice directly.

Degree, diploma and title in real estate marketing:

The professional examination "Real estate marketer with a federal certificate" takes place annually, provided that enough candidates meet the admission requirements (25 candidates for German, 8 for French and 3 for Italian), otherwise every two years. It can be held in German, French or Italian.
Candidates for the professional examination for real estate marketers are notified at least 1 month before the start of the examination. The invitation includes the examination program (with details of the place and time of the examination as well as permitted aids) and the list of experts.

The professional examination for real estate marketers comprises the following six parts:

• Law (written, 2 h, weighting 1)
• Structural knowledge (written, 1.5 h, weighting 1)
• Real Estate Marketing (written, 4 h, weighting 2)
• Real estate sales (written, 3 h, weighting 2)
• Real estate marketing and sales (oral, 0.75 h, weighting 2)
• Project work (written in advance and oral, 0.75 h, weighting 2)

Diploma and title "Real estate marketer"

Graduates of the professional examination receive a federal professional certificate and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Real estate marketer with federal professional certificate" or "Real estate marketer with federal professional certificate".

• In French: "Courtier en immeubles avec brevet fédéral", "Courtière en immeubles avec brevet fédéral"
• In Italian: "Esperto in commercializzazione immobiliare con attestato professionale federale", "Esperta in commercializzazione immobiliare con attestato professionale federale"
• In English: "Property Broker with Federal Diploma of Professional Education and Training" (Attention: This is only a recommendation/translation and not a protected title)